Taking an Awe Walk

on Apr 27, 2017 • 10:55 am

Taking an Awe Walk. What does this mean? At my music lesson, after an initial bit of crunchiness*, Stephen and I followed the symphonic score of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony, the 3rd movement. What an incredible composition this is! It’s always been one of my faves. To follow the full score, feeling in to the complexity, noticing the dynamics, tracking the glorious runs — the exciting, moving interplay between the instruments — and remembering that Beethoven was deaf! Taking an Awe Walk indeed! (Check out the current newsletter from the Berkeley Greater Good Science Center, where they suggest an Awe Walk Meditation.)

Open to Awe, Curiosity, Gratitude — what a blessed, transformative way to live our lives, and also to deal with the challenging moments, to “survive the Post Truth world”, as some put it. In dealing with facts and lies, one author suggests Curiosity and a new world view really help. Here’s a beaut of an article, The Problem with Facts, primarily about why facts don’t persuade people, and what we can do about it. The takeaway for me is to cultivate curiosity, together with awe! Tim Harford talks about how we can encourage Curiosity: “What we need is a Carl Sagan or David Attenborough of social science — somebody who can create a sense of wonder and fascination not just at the structure of the solar system or struggles of life in a tropical rainforest, but at the workings of our own civilization: health, migration, finance, education and diplomacy.” In short, Taking an Awe Walk!

Warm blessings, enjoy the blooming, the unfolding of Spring, and opening to Awe, Curiosity, and Gratitude.

(*My wonderful music teacher, of many years, was frustrated at my response to a challenging section of a Brahms piece. I blurted out, “I can’t do that”. Stephen would have hoped, after all these years, that I might have said something like, “Gosh, how can I work on that?” rather than to give up in exasperations. But more on this in another post!)

Jill Schroder is the author of BECOMING: Journeying Toward Authenticity. BECOMING is an invitation for self-reflection, and to mine our memorable moments for insights, meaning, and growth. Check the website for a sample chapter, or see the reviews to get a flavor for the volume. Your feedback is most welcome.